June 20, 2010
Day 16: Boya Lake Provincial Park to Watson Lake
The weather and the roads were good today. The high was 26C. The roads were a bit of up and down, but nothing too steep. The long stretches of gravel road that used to be on the Cassiar now seem to be gone. They must have been paved as part of the stimulus program. The roads are still beautifully quiet, but well maintained. I suspect it won't take long for the tourist hoards to discover the newly paved roads.
I crossed into the Yukon just before the end of the Cassiar and dutifully took the border crossing photo. There were a couple of stores at the intersection at the end. I picked up a snack at the gas station and the gentleman at the cash said he thought it would rain tomorrow because he had swatted many horseflies today. I hope he's mistaken.
I headed east to Watson Lake to stock up on groceries. There were only 2 places for groceries on the Cassiar (Iskut and Dease Lake) so I am low on supplies. Watson Lake may be the last place supply point for a while.
The set up in Watson Lake was very good. The tourist information centre were friendly and very helpful. They gave me a sheet with distances to all the campgrounds/stores/etc all the way to Whitehorse. There is a well serviced campground at the east end of town. It has internet (free!), showers, laundry and a limited supply of groceries. They are just a couple of km from the grocery store downtown, so I went there to stock up. It's a very good deal - only $10.50 for a night. I had a shower, did my laundry and bought groceries. As well, I caught up on e-mail and called home.
Watson Lake's claim to fame is the Signpost Forest. There are thousands of signs here and you are encouraged to put up your own. It was started during the construction of the Alcan Highway. The information centre shows a film about the history of the highway.
End point:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=60.05129,-128.65297&ll=60.05129,-128.65297&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
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Today's ride: 121 km (75 miles)
Total: 1,508 km (936 miles)
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